In an unexpected turn of events, the San Francisco advertising agency Division of Labor reported that shortly before noon, on October 14th, all the standing desks in the office were discovered in the sitting position.
The phenomenon was first noticed by copywriter Drew Weber, who was, incidentally, in the sitting position at the time.
“The office just looks so much more open,” said Weber, who pointed out he had uninterrupted sightlines for the first time since joining the agency. It was also his first time seeing everybody on level ground. “I just thought everybody was really tall.”
The agency-issued white Stand Desk with matte grey frame, deluxe memory handset, 10 outlet power strip and squishy, mall security guard stand pad is set to sitting mode by touching a keypad—often accidentally. But, until today, there has yet to be an occasion when all employees have chosen this configuration simultaneously.
“I’ve never hit that button on purpose,” said designer Ryan Lockhart, who also noted that he could see the back wall unobstructed for the first time. “It made me realize one of the posters on the opposite wall isn’t level, which, as a designer, is super annoying.”
The company, known for digital marketing campaigns, brand strategy and humorous digital video content, had trouble explaining the moment of serendipity.
Much of the blame for the incident was placed on creative director Josh Denberg, who usually has his office-appointed desk in the standing position, believing it makes him healthy or something.
“Sitting is the new smoking,” chirped Denberg, citing an internet cliché that has little scientific merit but something the advertising agency executive has no problem repeating anyway.
Denberg has long been a fan of the standing desk, believing it makes him morally superior to those who sit. “When people drop into a conversation that they don’t own a TV, it’s easy to put them in their place by casually mentioning that I stand at work, like, 90 percent of the time,” says Denberg.
The standing desk trend has taken the advertising agency scene by storm in recent years as agencies attempt to behave more like startups, minus the VC funding and gluts of excess cash. “We don’t offer our employees catered meals, in-office massage, or free afternoon yoga classes, but when clients walk into the office and see that every employee has their own stand desk, well, the ad campaigns pretty much sell themselves,” says creative director, Faruk Sagcan.
At press time, all employees had their desks back to the standing position.
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